Cooking apparatuses having a lower and upper juxtaposed cooking heating assembly with a respective top and bottom cooking surface are well known in the art.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,499,665, to the same applicant, discloses a cooking apparatus including a microwave generator and juxtaposed cooking plates or platen assemblies. The upper cooking plate is urged by its own mass toward the lower cooking plate. Adjustable stop means for adjusting the minimum gap between the plates are provided. This device is intended for combining the use of microwaves and contact cooking in order to fast cook and grill sandwiches and hamburgers. When a microwave cooking is programmed as an initial cooking step, the bread or dough part of the sandwich is softened by heat and steam and might be undesirably compressed (flattened) by the upper plate.
US 2009/064869 discloses a grill having two upper and two lower heating members, each including a heating device and a grill. The grills are brought into contact with the food and the gap there between can be adjusted while starting cooking. The upper heating members can be raised in order to allow cooking with just the lower heating. Contact cooking is the sole contemplated possibility. Microwave additional cooking is mentioned just as a generic addition.
WO 2011/159754 discloses a cooking device in which the food is placed in plastic bags and forced between two vertically oriented heated plates for cooking. The plates are movable toward and away from each other in order to bring them in appropriate contact with the food. At the end of the cooking cycle the food is maintained between the plates while the gap there between is widened in order to keep the food at an appropriate serving temperature.
WO 2007/044330 discloses a grill having opposed upper and lower platens wherein a gap spacing between the platens is adjusted in an initial stage and in subsequent stages of the cooking time. The food is placed between two opposed cooking surfaces defining a gap spacing there between that is adjustable so that during an initial stage of the cooking the gap spacing is equal to or less than the nominal initial uncooked thickness of the food, and during one or more subsequent stages of the cooking, after the initial stage, the gap spacing between the platens is varied. Thermostatic control of the cooking surfaces is unchanged when gap spacing is varied. The device is intended for contact cooking.
WO 2007/127072 discloses a dual-sided cooking device wherein upper and lower cooking platens are positioned parallel to each other when in a cooking position. Steam evacuation is permitted but contact between the food and the platens is essential to perform all cooking steps.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,335 discloses an apparatus for cooking food including two juxtaposed plates between which the food is initially subjected to high heat and pressure, and the pressure is adjusted in dependence upon the nature of the food material by an adjusting device. Contact cooking is an essential part of the device.
EP 1020153 discloses a clamshell cooking apparatus having upper and lower platen movable between a non-cook and a cook position. In the cook position, the upper platen is in contact with the foodstuff and is separated from the lower platen by a gap depending on the thickness of the foodstuff. To this end, the cooking apparatus comprises a gap sensor assembly disposed to determine when the upper cooking platen assembly contacts the foodstuff. The gap can be electronically adjusted by a motive device for various thicknesses of foodstuffs in order to maintain an appropriate cooking pressure on the food. A control circuit stops the motive device when the sensor indicates that the upper cooking plate is contacting the foodstuff. Once the motive device is stopped, the control circuit determines the gap size, and according to this, also determines a cooking time for the apparatus. Control circuit could also select a cooking temperature in response to the gap size.
US 2005/0193897 discloses a cooking device rather similar to EP 1020153. Platen position can be adjusted in order to maintain an appropriate cooking pressure on the foodstuff to be cooked.
FR 2957507 discloses a salamander broiler having an adjustable upper grill. No lower heating plate is provided.